If your home or business features waterfront access, then you know how important it is to protect your property from the potentially extreme, damaging power that water creates. From waves that pummel the shoreline to sitting water that may be a breeding ground for bacteria or haven for mosquitoes, the ideal solution is a retaining wall made from armor stone landscaping.

Armor stone is a type of limestone blasted out of the earth in quarries and is used on shorelines and banks to prevent erosion and other damage caused by the natural back-and-forth action of large waves. These stones are key features seen on jetties – structures used to direct the flow of water — in large rivers, coastal shorelines and parallel to the downwind shores of major lakes leading to lighthouses and other structures close to water.

Because armor stone landscaping is derived from quarries, the stones themselves can be cut to different sizes, normally between one and three feet tall and weighing two tons or more. Each stone comes in different colours, ranging from grey to brown to yellow to shades of blue.

In most cases, building a retaining wall requires an experienced company with the proper equipment, particularly when large armor stones are being used. Remember, armor stones can weigh several tons each and must be moved with caution. If you’ve decided to build a retaining wall using armor stone landscaping or other types of rocks, here are some tips to follow to make the project a success.

Decide how much stone you’ll need, which is derived by calculating the cubic area of the wall itself. To do this, multiply the length of the wall by the desired height, which allows you to determine the square footage. Next, take the square footage and multiply it by how thick you want the wall to be, resulting in the cubic footage.

A retaining wall can never be created by laying the stones on the grass or other flat surface. You must first dig a trench, which must hold at least six to 10 inches of firmly compacted gravel – or enough so that half the height of the first layer of stone is below ground level.

Always use the biggest stones for the base of the retaining wall. It’s a good idea to sort the stones by size, grading into large, medium and small, with the smallest stones ending up as the top layer of the wall. These keep the wall balanced.

When building a retaining wall, make sure the stones lean very slightly toward the slope.

The final step is to cap the top of the stone wall with mortar, then put down another layer of thinner, flat stones on top. This should occur for the entire length of the wall, and the top stones should be tapped in place with a rubber mallet.

For more information on building a retaining wall with armor stone landscaping, call the experts at ME Contracting today.

Let’s face it. Cracks happen. In your driveway, that is. There are few landscape features outside your home that draw negative attention to it more than a cracked or damaged driveway. If you’re trying to sell your home, your realtor will tell you in between sips of her $5 double Mochachino that it hurts your “curb appeal” thanks to the weeds growing through the cracks. When your beer-bellied neighbor loses a flip flop and stubs his big toe on a slab of uneven concrete at the end of your driveway when cutting across to his car parked out front, he’ll angrily tell you it’s a tripping hazard – and threaten to call a city inspector unless you fix it.

In some cases, the obvious solution is driveway paving from the experts at ME Landscaping; in others, it may be possible to temporarily repair driveway cracks in a few simple steps until you can afford a permanent fix. For more than a decade, we’ve been the leading custom landscaping contractor in the Greater Toronto Area and have paved or repaired thousands of driveways, walkways, and other paved surfaces in a manner best suited to our customer’s needs.

For the average homeowner, it’s possible to repair small cracks or potholes in a concrete driveway with a combination of basic skills, tools, materials, and time. None of these are insurmountable; it’s really just a matter of how badly you want to do the work yourself, and how confident you are to get the job done.

What materials are needed for driveway repair?

For a few quick questions, call the driveway paving experts at ME Landscaping or check in at the contractor’s desk at your local home improvement warehouse. Once you describe the nature of the crack or the pothole, you’ll be directed to a ready-made or ready-to-apply product you can buy and take home for immediate use.
Make sure you have the right tools
Despite your best efforts, you’re not Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid and you can’t trim your front lawn with scissors used for an origami display. You need patience for that, or better yet – a lawn mower. To repair cracks or patch a pothole in your driveway, you need the right tools and materials for the job:

Concrete

Concrete float

Concrete patch mix

Cement

Cold chisel

Hammer

Finishing trowel

Garden hose

Work gloves

Wire brush

Pointing trowel

Is it a hairline crack, or something larger?

In most cases, hairline cracks can be fixed with the right mix of Portland cement and water, or even a polymer based product under the right conditions. Repairing larger cracks or holes takes more time and effort, but nonetheless can be accomplished if you’re careful and thorough. One of the biggest steps is first clearing out the crack or pothole so the damaged area is free of small stones or other debris.

Got questions about repairing cracks or other damage to your paved surface?

Call the driveway paving experts at ME Landscaping on 416-455-9296.

When it comes to durability, ease of installation, and simple maintenance, few materials are more ideal for patios and walkways than Flagstone.

ME Contracting has been the premier outdoor construction & landscaping company in the Greater Toronto Area since 2002, and has designed and installed hundreds of Flagstone landscaping projects during that time.

Here are the top four questions we’re asked about Flagstone landscaping:

What is Flagstone? Flagstone is a generic flat stone made from different minerals that is a popular landscaping material used for patios, paving slabs or walkways, fences and roofing. It also is used for sculptural projects, memorials, headstones, facades and other construction projects.

What are the benefits of Flagstone? Flagstone was once used for high-end patios where budget wasn’t an issue. But thanks to extraction techniques that have made this stone more readily available, the cost has dropped. Naturally beautiful, Flagstone is easy to maintain, and has a no-slip surface which makes it easy to walk on. Because it comes in a wide variety of shapes, colours, and thicknesses, Flagstone can blend in with any outdoor décor or architectural style. Fixing a Flagstone patio or walkway is simple, as the damaged stone can be removed and replaced very quickly and with minimal effort.

What types of Flagstone are there? There are many types of stone used for Flagstone landscaping: Blue Flagstone is pure granite that is cut out in giant blocks, leaving a slightly rough surface that makes it look more like natural rock; Arizona Flagstone has a colour that ranges from a very deep brown-red to a shimmering tan, and in this case is cut to have a more flat appearance; Slate is another kind of Flagstone and is a blue stone with a flatter, smoother look; and Limestone and Sandstone are perhaps two of the most common and widely available kinds of stone used for Flagstone landscaping projects.

How do I clean my Flagstone patio? A Flagstone patio or walkway will accumulate dirt, grime, and other debris that needs to be washed away.

Dont get it wrong, there are literally hundreds of questions one can ask about landscaping projects and flagstones in particular but regardless of your landscaping project ideas or intentions, if you live within the greater Toronto area and you’re looking for flagstone or other hardscape materials to use, why dont you call us for a free, no-obligation consultation?

Our policy is simple! we want our clients to step into their landscaping projects with their eyes wide open and with the right expectations from their landscaping designer & their project.

Call us today and let us show you our flagstone landscaping project gallery and book of work